Verizon Named Top-Performing Carrier in Chicago for Third Consecutive Time

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RootMetrics™ announced today the latest Chicago RootScore™ Report and corresponding RootScore Awards. Complementing consumer-generated results from the RootMetrics CoverageMap app, the RootMetrics scout team professionally tests how mobile carriers perform in cities across the country. The third Chicago report analyzed results from 74,235 data, call, and text tests on the AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon networks using smartphone technology RootMetrics designed to replicate real-world mobile usage. The report named Verizon as the top-performing carrier in Chicago for the third consecutive time.

The Story in Chicago
Fast data speeds were at the forefront of the mobile performance story in Chicago, as RootMetrics found fast average data speeds across the board in The Windy City. While Verizon continued to deliver the fastest speeds in Chicago, Sprint’s recent LTE upgrade in Chicago’s suburbs resulted in a dramatic improvement to the carrier’s data performance.

Sprint’s data speeds jumped significantly compared to the results RootMetrics found in April 2012. In fact, Sprint’s average download and upload speeds in Chicago were the fastest RootMetrics has recorded by Sprint in any market to date.

The speeds in Chicago exceeded those in many cities across the US, allowing Chicago to edge past some strong competitors. Chicago ranked 25th out of 77 markets when RootMetrics compared overall average download speeds. Chicago’s 25th place finish surpassed several major cities, including Los Angeles (47th), New York (38th), and San Francisco (32nd). To determine a market’s ranking, RootMetrics took the average download speeds found for all four major carriers within a given market and averaged them together.

Good news for Chicagoans who like to add pictures to online albums, post videos to YouTube, or perform other tasks that require uploading data: AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon provided strong average upload speeds, all of which were significantly faster than that of T-Mobile.

Which Carrier Ranks First in Chicago?
RootMetrics analyzed the test results in order to share with consumers which carrier provided the fastest and most reliable data network, which carrier had the fewest blocked and dropped calls, and which carrier offered the fastest text service.

Carrier Speeds: The RootMetrics data performance tests analyzed how fast each carrier’s network was able to download and upload files and how consistently a customer could successfully connect to a data network.

Verizon’s LTE network delivered the fastest average download speed in Chicago at 14.3 Mbps and the fastest average upload speed at 8.3 Mbps. AT&T’s average download and upload speeds of 10.8 Mbps and 6.1 Mbps, respectively, trailed only those of Verizon. T-Mobile delivered a 3rd place average download speed of 8.2 Mbps and Sprint’s LTE network provided an impressive average download speed of 7.0 Mbps. In addition, Sprint’s average upload speed of 4.4 Mbps was notably faster than T-Mobile’s speed of 1.6 Mbps.

Chicago High Speed Data Comparison and Potential Slowdowns:

RootMetrics believes that sheer data speed isn’t necessarily the best indication of mobile performance. Perhaps a more important factor to consider is how often mobile users actually experience fast data speeds. Looking at the consistency with which a carrier offers speeds greater than 5 Mbps provides a good approximation of a fast mobile experience.
The following shows how often each carrier recorded download speeds above 5 Mbps in Chicago:

o Verizon 82.6%
o AT&T 73%
o T-Mobile 64.2%
o Sprint 44.5%

AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon were the only carriers to record upload speeds above 5 Mbps in Chicago, doing so at the following rates:
o AT&T 65.1%
o Verizon 63.3%
o Sprint 45%

RootMetrics has found that data speeds slower than 1.5 Mbps often result in poor experiences when downloading or uploading files. Sprint recorded the greatest volume of download speeds below 1.5 Mbps during testing, doing so 32.6% of the time. In terms of upload speed, T-Mobile recorded the greatest volume of upload speeds below 1.5 Mbps during testing, doing so 37.1% of the time. Sprint followed closely, recording upload speeds below 1.5 Mbps 29.9% of the time.

Data Reliability: AT&T provided the most reliable network in Chicago, with an overall network connection success rate of 99.3%.

Call Performance: RootMetrics analyzed call performance by measuring both dropped calls and blocked calls (the inability to place an outgoing call). AT&T and Verizon delivered the strongest call performances in Chicago and shared a victory in the category.

Text Performance: To replicate the most typical user experience, RootMetrics compared how long it took each carrier to send and receive text messages. AT&T delivered the strongest texting performance in Chicago and won the category.

Overall: With the strongest overall mobile performance in Chicago, Verizon won the combined performance category for the third consecutive time. The final results are:

1 – Verizon (96)
2 – AT&T (87)
3 – Sprint (71)
4 – T-Mobile (67)

The February 2013 Chicago RootScore Report is the latest in an ongoing series of performance measurement reports and corresponding RootScore Awards from RootMetrics. The company will continue to publish additional reports for markets to help consumers make better decisions about the right carrier for his or her individual needs. Consumers who are interested to see how their network performs compared to other carriers in Chicago or elsewhere can download the free RootMetrics CoverageMap app for iPhone or Android devices. Review all RootScore reports at http://www.rootmetrics.com.

To evaluate the mobile experience in the Chicago area, RootMetrics conducted 74,235 call, data, and text tests during an eight-day period, covering all hours of the day and night, November 13 – November 20, 2012. The tests, which replicate real-world mobile behavior, were conducted using the RootMetrics RootScout ™ app running on Android-based, off-the-shelf consumer smartphones purchased from carrier stores. To ensure that testing aligns with the consumer experience, RootMetrics conducts tests on activities that consumers perform most often: making phone calls, uploading and downloading files from the Internet, and sending and receiving texts. To reflect how consumers’ use their phones on a daily basis, tests were conducted both indoors (at 163 locations) and outdoors during drive tests (covering 4,473 miles).

Mobile performance varies depending on where people live, work, or otherwise spend time.
The results of this report, combined with the geographical coverage maps at http://www.rootmetrics.com and via the CoverageMap app, allow people to make better decisions about the right carrier for their individual needs.

About RootMetrics™
Based in Bellevue, WA, RootMetrics is an independent company that provides accurate and unbiased mobile performance data to consumers via coverage maps, market-specific RootScore Reports, and a free downloadable app for use on either Android or iOS devices. To ensure that RootMetrics testing reflects a typical consumer’s mobile experience, testing is conducted based on where, when, and how consumers use their devices most often. With data that is accurate and trusted by consumers and carriers, RootMetrics provides tools that empower consumers to find products and services that best fit their unique mobile needs.